COVID-19 Salgın Sürecinde Yaşlılağa Bakış: 280 Karakter Yaşlılar Hakkında Ne Söylüyor?

Mart 2020'de Dünya Sağlık Örgütü’nün 2019 koronavirüs hastalığını (COVID-19) bir pandemi olarak ilan ettikten sonra, COVID-19 virüsünün yayılmasına engel olmak için ülkemizde ve dünya çapında ciddi önlemler alınmıştır. Bu önlemlerden biri de 65 yaş ve üstü bireylere getirilen sokağa çıkma yasağıdır. 65 yaş ve üstü bireylere getirilen sokağa çıkma yasağı koruyucu olmayı amaçlasa da, COVID-19 vaka ve ölüm oranlarının yüksek bir yüzdesinin 65 yaş ve üstü bireylerden oluşması, bu hastalığın bir “yaşlı hastalığı” olarak algılanmasına ve COVID-19’un etkilediği en dezavantajlı grup olmasına dayanak oluşturmuştur. COVID-19 öncesi dönemde de yaşa dayalı ayrımcılıklarla karşı karşıya olan yaşlı bireyler, pandemi sürecinde gerek politik tartışma ve düzenlemelerde gerekse haber söylemlerinde yapılan yaş vurgusu nedeniyle, sadece günlük hayatta değil, çeşitli medya ortamlarında da şiddetli ayrımcı tutumlara maruz kalmıştır. Pandemi sürecinde yaşlılara yönelik ayrımcılığın yansıdığı medya ortamlarından biri de sosyal ağlardır. Sosyal ağlar üzerinden Covid-19 nedeniyle yaşlı yetişkinlerin durumuyla ilgili gerçek endişelerin yanında, yaşlılar hakkında olumsuz içeriklere de rastlanmaktadır (Jimenez vd., 2020: 1662). Buna göre söz konusu çalışma, COVID-19 nedeniyle sosyal medyada yaşçılıkla ilgili içeriklerin Twitterdaki yansımalarını incelemektedir. Çalışma kapsamında 21 Mart ve 12 Mayıs 2020 tarihleri arasında Twitter üzerinden atılan toplam 221 tweet içerik analiz yöntemi ile değerlendirilmiştir. Araştırma sonuçlarına göre, COVID-19 nedeniyle yaşlılara yönelik rahatsız edici içerikler, korku ve panik içinde olan ve bu nedenle yaşlılara yardım edilmesi gerektiğini belirten tweetlere göre oransal olarak daha fazladır. Ayrıca atılan tweetlerde COVID-19’un çoğunlukla yaşlıları etkilemesinden dolayı önemsizleştirildiği şeklindeki paylaşımlara da rastlanılmıştır. Dolayısıyla, salgın boyunca Twitter’da yaşlı insanlarla ilgili kaygı ve ilginin azaldığı ve yaşçılık söylemlerin arttığı sonucuna ulaşılmıştır. Acil sonuçlar sadece yaşlı yetişkinlere yönelik dışlanma söylemlerini teşvik etmekle kalmamakta, 65 yaş üstünün “tedbirli” olmasından çok tehlikeli oldukları ve toplumun yaşlı yetişkinlere ihtiyaç duymadığı şeklinde bir algı oluşturmaktadır. Sonuç olarak yaşlılara yönelik ayrımcı ve dışlayıcı tutumların, gündelik hayatın bir uzantısı sayılan ve kriz anında bile bağlantıda kalmamızı sağlayan soyal medya platformlarından biri olan Twitter’da şiddetlenmeye başlaması, pandemi sürecinde yaşlıların günlük yaşam biçimlerini karmaşıklaştırmasının ötesinde, kuşaklar arası gerilimin yoğunlaşmasına da neden olabileceği düşünülmektedir.

A Look at Aging in the COVID-19 Outbreak Process: What do 280 Characters Say About the Elderly?

After the World Health Organization declared 2019 coronavirus disease (COVID-19) as a pandemic in March 2020, which has been declared as an "enemy of humanity" by the Secretary General of the World Health Organization and is considered an epidemic disease that needs to be protected from all segments of the society. One of these measures is the curfew imposed on individuals aged 65 and over. Although the curfew imposed on individuals aged 65 and over aims to be protective, a high percentage of COVID-19 cases and mortality rates consist of individuals aged 65 and above, making this disease an "elderly disease" and the most disadvantaged group affected by COVID-19. The emphasis on age, both in political discussions and regulations and in news discourse during the pandemic period, caused elderly individuals who faced age-based discrimination in the pre-COVID-19 period to be exposed to more severe discriminatory attitudes not only in daily life but also in various media environments. One of the media environments where discrimination against the elderly is reflected during the pandemic process is social media. In addition to real concerns about the situation of older adults due to Covid-19, negative content about the elderly is also encountered on social networks (Jimenez et al., 2020: 1662). Accordingly, the study examines the reflections of aging and aging content on Twitter due to COVID-19. Within the scope of the study, a total of 221 tweets posted on Twitter between 12 March and 31 May 2020 were evaluated using the content analysis method. According to the results of the research, there are more disturbing content for the elderly due to COVID-19 than the tweets that are in fear and panic and therefore state that the elderly should be helped. In addition, in the tweets posted, it has been found that COVID-19 is trivialized because it mostly affects the elderly. Therefore, it has been concluded that during the epidemic, concern and interest about elderly people decreased and ageism discourse increased on Twitter. The immediate results not only encourage discourses of exclusion towards older adults, but also create a perception that over 65 are more dangerous than “cautious” and society does not need older adults. As a result, it is thought that the discriminatory and exclusionary attitudes towards the elderly have started to increase on Twitter, which is an extension of daily life and is one of the social media platforms that allows us to stay connected even in times of crisis, not only complicating the daily life styles of the elderly during the pandemic process, but also causing the tension between generations to intensify.

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